"You think you're mastering the shadows," she continued. "But it's not you carrying the void, it's the void carrying you. Every time you step, it digs into you. Eats you. How much of you will be left when you stand before the Sword Saint again? A man… or just an echo of the shadows?"
His jaw tightened. He pressed the blade closer, not to cut her, but to silence the tremor in his own hands.
"An echo strong enough to kill him is good enough for me."
—
Her eyes narrowed. For the first time, she struck not to spar but to hurt.
A surge of darkness exploded outward, blasting him back across the chamber. He slammed into the far wall, stone cracking beneath the impact, his breath ripped from his lungs.
Nysha stood, crimson eyes burning.
"You want a spar?" Her voice shook with fury. "Then I'll teach you what it means to lose yourself to the dark."
